Whisky Cocktail: The Fakerac

by Oliver Klimek on March 6, 2012

Along with the Old Fashioned, the Sazerac is probably the oldest whisky cocktail. What makes it a bit special is the use of absinthe. What makes it even more special is the fact that the absinthe is only used to coat the glass with the largest part of that expensive elixir being discarded.

Perhaps you are not a big fan of plain absinthe (shame on you…) and/or you don’t like to pour perfectly good booze down the drain, so getting an entire bottle of absinthe may be out of question. And perhaps you also don’t want to fiddle around with ice but still are curious to taste that legendary drink.

Put the sugar cube into the sample bottle. If the cube is too big to fit through the neck, break it. Add the Peychaud’s and swirl it around until the sugar cube has disintegrated. Add the whisky and the wormwood bitters, close the bottle and shake vigourously untill the sugar has dissolved completely. Put the bottle in the freezer along with the glass you intend to use until both are ice cold. Serve plain.

Of course the pure wormwood bitters are no real comparison to proper absinthe, but in my opinion this is better than to replace it with something like pastis as I have seen on various occasions.

I’ve taken to leaving the absinthe in – a few drops of a good and bitter one help balance things out. I’ve even given up on rinsing the glass and just add a few drops, using the Savoy Cocktail Book and the fact they do that in their recipe as an excuse for my laziness